moved in

We have been living here for two weeks now.  Moving all our stuff from the old house to here and then unpacking is pretty much done.  We also bought used and new furniture to set up the house.  We are almost done with that part.  There is still some organizing of things that I need to do, but the rough draft is in place.  This week I took a deep sigh of relief and found pleasure in the daily routine again.  Lotus and I went to the old house several times to tie up all the loose ends there and returned the keys.  Afterwards we went to the beach and frolicked in the sea, sand, and sun.

David has found an immediate use for the back part of our property, which I refer to sometimes as "the field".  He bought an electric dirt-bike motorcycle.  He was smart to not tell me about it until it showed up here.  I probably would have said it was not necessary; however, now that it's here and Solana learned to ride it (it's just her size) I'm glad that he didn't give me a chance to protest.  It's fun, it's quiet, and it turned my cautious 9 year old into a biker!  She even gives Lotus rides on the back and taught two of her friends how to ride it.

Lotus has been spending hours riding her bicycle around the long driveway.  David makes obstacle courses with the empty cardboard boxes from the move, something I never would have thought of doing.  We are all spending much more time outdoors.  I'm grateful, grateful, grateful that we found this place.

I'm reading a book about permaculture.  It inspires me to learn more, and to become a garden farmer.  The thought is also a bit daunting since I know I would need help, both labor and advice.

What's in Spring Valley, California?

David and I signed a lease for on a house on a 0.63 acre property. Doesn't sound like much but for San Diego that's a big yard. The house was built in 1926 and it's 1,024 square feet. My hope is that I will be spending most of my time outdoors.  There is a large area in the back that is not landscaped.  It has a few trees, but it is mostly a blank slate awaiting our creativity. Tomorrow we will start moving in and start our adventure in urban homesteading!

The Tale of Squeak

Solana made this book and dictated it to me.  I left the grammatical errors in; they'll be cute later.  The girl's name is pronounced Tall - ia.  The pictures of the illustrations is just a sampling.

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Thalia.  It was six days before Christmas.  She was in her room, playing with her doll's hair, and whistling too.  That night, when she was reading The Long Winter, which was the book she always reads every night, right before she went to bed, she stuck out her tongue at her doll.  She didn't like her doll very much.  Soon she dropped off to sleep, like dropping off a mountain when you're sky diving, or like when you are jumping off a diving board into a pool.  But anyway, despite those things, she got very, very sleepy, and then she went to sleep, obviously.

Five days later, it was Christmas!  There were five presents under the tree for her.  She didn't ask for much.  And even if she did, she would only get half, and she liked that.  The first present she opened had green wrapping paper with polka dots.  It was a new basketball.  The second present was a beautiful picture of the sunset.  The third present was a new lamp.  The fourth present was a new coloring book.  The fifth present...oh oh oh! was a LITTLE STUFFED ANIMAL!

She hugged it, and hugged it, and hugged it!  Then she said, "Thank you, Grandma!"  She said loudly, "I'll name him Squeak!"  It was a little bunny with a bow tied around its neck.  It had beautiful button eyes.  That night she slept with it.

Years later, they eventually moved.  They had to get rid of a lot of stuff.  But they didn't get rid of Squeak.  They did get rid of her basketball because she was tired of sports now!

As years went by after they moved, Squeak needed reparing, because he got burnt on the stove and because he got played with a lot and got very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very worn out.

When they first moved into their new house, the first thing they got was the bed.  The mom and the dad slept on the couch, which was the second thing they bought.  They had three kids in the family:  Jason, Alexander, and Thalia.  Thalia was the youngest.  The only one she was older than was Squeak.  Squeak was now very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very worn out.  He lost one of his button eyes, his bow came undone, he was stained all over and very patched up.  When they were all settled into their house, Thalia finally got her own bed.

Thalia shut the door of her room when she was going to sleep.  She remembered something.  She had left Squeak in the car.  She could not sleep without him.  Her dad was going to the skating rink.  He was just leaving.  Thalia jumped out of bed in her underwear, running out into the street to stop her dad.  

 "DAAAAAD!" she called.  Dad stopped the car.  He thought it was some random stranger hobo.  

 He got out and said, "Hey man, your dad isn't around here anywhere, and you'd bet--"  He stopped talking.  

 "Dad, I need Squeak," Thalia said.  So her dad got back in the car and handed Squeak to Thalia.

Thalia was so thankful to have Squeak back that she even said her prayers that night.  (She usually doesn't do that.)  But she could barely go to sleep, even with Squeak, because she was 14 years old now and she had to go to high school and she was really scared about it.  She had never left the house without mom or dad before, except when she dated that hobo in Hollywood.

After they had lived in their house for a couple of years, they had to do a yard sale and move.  Thalia hadn't helped with the sorting of give-away and not-give-away.  When she was just browsing the aisles, as her mom was trying to make a deal with this weird lady, she found Squeak in one of the boxes!  She said, "MOMMM!"

Her mom stopped talking to the weird lady and looked over at Thalia, and said, "Whaaat?"

"Why did you put Squeak in the donate box?!" Thalia said and began to cry.  

Her mom looked at her like a cow standing in the middle of a railroad track looking at an oncoming train, and she said, "Because you're 14 years old.  You don't need a stupid stuffed animal anymore.  Plus, you're going to high school, and all the other girls and boys will tease you.  But you can keep it."

The next day she went to high school for the very first time in her life.  Because she couldn't go when she was eight, obviously.  In her suitcase she brought you-know-who.  I'll just say it anyway, Squeak.  A few weeks later, the other girls in high school started to notice that she always carried around a little stuffed animal bunny.  Guess what they did.  I'll just tell you.  They took it from her!  They carried it all around recess saying,

Little Miss Tattletale

Squirming like a beached whale

Wanting to tell on us

But you cannot trust

Little Miss Tattletale

This went on for weeks and weeks until they finally got their diplomas.  She was glad to be home in her own snoring bed with her brother Alexander.

When she was 16, she married a handsome young muscular man.  They lived very, very happily together.  Thalia had something in the back of her suitcase but she had forgotten what it was.  After she had five children she finally decided to clean out her old suitcase from high school.  The first thing she opened was the old spiderweb-filled back pocket.  She found Squeak.  She hugged it and hugged it, just like she had all those years ago.

The End

end of May, June 2013

Here are pictures from the last month or so.  The first one is Solana looking out over Indian River in Florida.  This was our last bike ride over the bridge, so we stopped to take pictures.

Here are the girls at the Orlando airport, leaving Florida.

You can barely see Lotus here, waiting for Solana outside the Junior Theater in San Diego.

Double piggy-back ride!

 David is fishing in the background.

 Here is Solana at a birthday party for a friend she made in the homeschool group.  Solana is planning to go to school in the fall, but I still get to homeschool Lotus!

Lotus made this "horse" and her name is Pretty Cool.

This was Solana's first day of crocheting.  She made a very long chain.  Then she learned slip stitch and single crochet, and her next project was a pot holder, which is still a WIP.  Then she made part of her Halloween costume, which I cannot show you yet!

around our house

 Here is Solana in our front yard.  As you can see, there is no grass for us to water.  There is a big tree for shade, and a roof over the front "porch" for more shade.

 These lovely plants are in the back yard.  Succulents seem to do well in this dry climate.

 There are five of these tall evergreen trees along the back of the property.

 Solana's room and our bedroom have windows facing the back.

 There is a rose bush in the corner.  It's in need of some pruning.  The oranges are juicy and sweet.

The hot tub is finally fixed!

House Tour

 Here is your photo tour of the inside of our house here in San Diego.  Next time I'll show you what the outside looks like.  This is Lotus in the family room, adjacent to the kitchen.  Behind me are doors to the screened patio.

 This is the other view of the family room.  The hot tub is out on the patio awaiting repair for a leak.  Anyway, we spend a lot of time in here since it's next to the kitchen and has lots of light.  We play board games, have snacks, read books, and make fires for hot dogs.

 Here is the rest of the kitchen.  I love the big windows over the sink.  The morning light comes streaming in to wake me up and warm me up.  I have a rainbow maker there too.  The stove is electric, but I'm getting used to it.  The fridge is magnetic (unlike our last one), so it got covered fast.  There is a large pantry and coat closet to the left.  The door leads to the front room (dining room.)

 This is the front room, which we use as a dining room/art and crafts room.  I was going to clear off the table for the photo but I didn't get around to it.  I have a desk at the far end with the laptop in it, but it also has an ironing board on it at the moment--for melty beads, not laundry!

 Lots of light comes in these windows, which overlook our front yard and Cowles Mountain.  The front door is next to that fan.  There's enough space next to the table for dancing!

 This is Lotus' room!  This built-in shelving was a great bonus.  The drawers underneath have the dress-up clothes.

 The kids spend lots of time in here.  Solana did the zebra and giraffe paintings.  Lotus grabbed a bunch of frames and nick-knacks while I was unpacking and set them up in there.

 This mirror came with us from our Savannah house.  The door there leads to the garage.  The dresser is from 1952, and Lotus loves it.  It has a little wardrobe section on the right.

 Our bedroom.  The window doesn't open because there is an air conditioner installed in it, so we basically only come in here at night or for naps.  One of the bathrooms is off of this room, and the other one is in the hallway.  I didn't take any pictures of the bathrooms; they're not very interesting!

 This is David's room.  It has all the guy stuff in it.  We girls enjoy coming in here too, though.  He has a comfy couch and we have a family movie night on Friday or Saturday nights.

 Here are David's desk and photo albums.

 Solana's room!  She made the fish hanging from the ceiling.  It even has a baby!  The stuffed animals are in the closet (reduced inventory.)

This is the girls' bunk bed.  Solana picked out the outer-space sheets to go with her blanket.  Astronomy isn't just for boys!  Lotus picked out the horse sheets.  The desk is much bigger than shown.  Solana listens to cds and makes art here to her heart's content.  She has a view of the orange tree.  "Uni" the unicorn is on Lotus' bunk.

Come visit us!

Suwanee Springfest

I put pictures on Facebook, but I will take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about our trip to Suwannee Springfest, a music festival that we went to last weekend.  Raziya invited us to join her and Marley there, so the kids and I left on Thursday morning.  It took us 5.5 hours to get there.  Four and a half hours of driving time, plus two 30 minute stops.  Lotus got bored a lot and kept asking to nurse.  When we finally got there, it was so nice to get out of the car and explore the park a little bit, but finally I felt the need to find a campsite and set up before dark.  At that point, Lotus finally fell asleep, so I was able to set up in peace!  The park is really big, and you can camp anywhere, not just in designated sites, but finally I just picked a quiet spot in the woods walking distance to the river.  As night fell, I saw two owls swooping and landing in trees, and Solana and I watched a racoon climb a tree.
Friday we walked down to the festival activities.  We swung in hammocks, listened to music, met some people, went to the kids' tent, and then caught a ride back to our campsite from a nice man in a golf cart.  Then we waited for Raziya and Marley to get there.  It was so great to see them again after 7 months!
Saturday it poured.  We went to the store in my van for bananas, oranges, and umbrellas.  It was raining so hard I could barely see the road.  But it stopped.  We bought some firewood and went back to the festival.  In the late afternoon, David arrived.  We went for a walk to the river, made a fire, ate some food, went to listen to some awesome music, and sat around our fire.
Sunday we went back to the river beach.  The sand was really fine, and the beach was very sloped.  Quite different than the ocean.  The water looked like it wasn't even moving, until you got in.  There was a rope swing hanging from a tree on the other side and people were swinging and jumping off.  I decided I couldn't miss this chance for an adrenaline rush.  The part I was most nervous about was the coldness of the water.  So once I started swimming across the river, that part was dealt with.  It's called the Suwannee River, but it's hard to think of it as a river compared to the rivers in Peru.  In the jungle, the rivers are wide, with visible currents, and in the mountains they are fast and rocky.  This looked more like a canal to me.  I say this just to explain that swimming "across the river" was no big deal at all.  The only hard part was dealing with the current when I got to the other side, which got suddenly much stronger at the edge.  But there were porous rocks to grab onto, with big hand holds.  I climbed up to the rope, found a stick to reach the rope, and prepared to jump.  By then I was shaking with cold and nerves, so I passed the rope to a guy that had just showed up.  After he and his friend jumped and the crowd had stopped cheering (and looking!) at me, I jumped.  I didn't want to do it while I was shaking because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to hold on long enough to be over the water.  As soon as I was swinging and letting go, my only thought was, "Again!"  So I climbed up and jumped a second time and then swam back to my family.  Pretty soon David decided to leave, but the kids and I stayed and played in the sand and water for a long time.  Solana said it was the best day ever!  Eventually we did have to leave, and headed out around 5:30.  Got home at 10:45 after stopped 4 times.  The trip home was mostly peaceful, punctuated by a couple loud, brief screaming sessions.  Mostly having to do with using the potty (in the van) and having to smell the other kid's poop and hear the other kid's screams until I could pull over.  I'm not a big fan of driving that long with no other adults, but it was worth it.  It was great to be out in nature, with friends, and have new experiences.
I got a tick on my thigh, Lotus had two ticks, on her chest and neck, and Solana had two ticks, on her thigh and on her head.  Lotus never knew about hers; we removed them while she was sleeping, but Solana found both hers herself.  I removed the one on her thigh while she was awake, but I had to remove the one on her head while she was asleep.  Hope we didn't get Lyme disease!
During the four days, we ate all raw food.  It was actually quite convenient for camping.  We didn't have to make fires or wash dishes.  We ate about 40 bananas (mostly by Solana), carrots, cucumbers, spinach, celery, cabbage (from Dana's garden), about 2 dozen oranges and a dozen apples, nuts, raisins, dips I had made ahead of time out of nuts and veggies, dehydrated food that I had made such as trail mix bars, kale chips, granola, and fake meat (made from walnuts, mushrooms, zucchini, parsley, tamari and lemon juice.)  I started out with ice in one of the coolers, but even though it melted after the first day, nothing spoiled.  At meal time, I would open the coolers and spread a bunch of stuff out and Lotus and I would just sit there and eat with our hands.  The most I had to do was peel and slice a few things on the cutting board.  The cucumbers were so crunchy, I sliced them into circles and enjoyed them like chips.  Lotus made forests out of carrot sticks in the dips.  I had one made from almonds, one from cashews, and one from sesame seeds and zucchini.  She liked all of them, and devoured the kale chips.  She was very upset when the oranges ran out on the way home.
It was sad saying goodbye to Raziya and Marley, but they are planning to come visit us on their Spring Break in a couple weeks!!